A new presidential administration comes with quite a long to-do list. You have to write lots of new jokes for late-night TV shows, you have to immediately start printing bumper stickers abdicating responsibility for the new president-elect (ie: "Don't blame me, I voted for ______!"), and of course, you have to stock up on your guns.

Wait. What?

Apparently, it's true. In this wondrously bad economy, one industry is experiencing a surge in business. Gun sales are up 8% to 10% this year and according to the gun buyers themselves, this is due to one of two fear-laden factors.

First, neither presidential candidate instills total confidence in the heart of the gun owner when it comes to preserving their interpretation of the second amendment. Senator Obama has said that though he supports an individual's right to bear arms, he also believes in "common-sense safety measures". In the past, this has meant that he endorsed an Illinois handgun ban, co-sponsored a bill to limit gun purchases to one per month and he is in favour of banning semi-automatics, among other precautions.

Senator McCain has a vastly different relationship with guns and gun control. He voted for prohibiting lawsuits against gun manufacturers and he voted against the Brady act. McCain also voted to maintain current laws allowing guns to be sold without trigger locks. But his potential presence in office does not ameliorate the concerns of gun owners, who are disturbed by his previous tendencies towards a modicum of gun control (i.e. he has voted for requiring background checks on individuals purchasing guns at a gun show). So while McCain is certainly more gun-friendly than his opponent, he's definitely not the golden child of gun ownership.

Second, the downward spiral of the economy has instilled fear into the heart of most Americans. Many gun owners believe that a surplus of weaponry and ammunition will protect them from the consequences of unhappy times. Anticipating an increase in crime and a decrease in availability of firearms and accessories in the new administration, people are endeavouring to protect themselves through the mobilisation of their second amendment rights.

This is, of course, speaking in generalities. Not all gun owners plan on voting for McCain, despite the NRA's very prominent endorsement of the Republican candidate. The organisation called Senator Obama the most anti-gun would-be president in history. Those voters going against the grain in the microcosm of gun enthusiasts cite economic and health care concerns as more worrisome than the stability of their right to bear arms. Of course, they're making sure they own plenty of weapons now so that their collection can be grandfathered in when times change.

This increase in gun sales is not a new trend for the US. Purchases jumped in 1994 after President Clinton advocated for a ban on semi-automatic rifles. Sales spiked after April 2007's killings on the Virginia Tech campus. Gun ownership went up in 2006 when the housing bubble first popped in certain regions of the country, and continued to rise after every market dive. Despite the foreclosures left and right, unsteady gas prices and the staggering cost of groceries, a good percentage of Americans today are making room in the budget for new guns, as they seem to believe this will protect them from the imminent collapse of the economy and social justice.

I suppose people cope with fear in a lot of different ways. What is alarming about this particular coping mechanism is that unlike biting one's nails, grinding one's teeth or hitting the cookie dough pretty hard, this particular habit has the potential to dramatically affect others well-being and perception of safety.

So what say, candidates? How do you plan on addressing an increasingly divided, increasingly panicked population that is continuously arming itself at an unprecedented rate? Let me know when you have an answer. I'll be over here, head first in the cookie dough.